- Israeli military shares video footage of scores of tanks moving ‘in Gaza’
- Asem Abu Rakaba alleged to have planned paraglider raids that helped kill 1,400
- Follow the latest developments in the Israel-Palestine war with our liveblog HERE
By JON BRADY and IWAN STONE and PERKIN AMALARAJ and NICK CRAVEN
PUBLISHED: 18:00 AEDT, 28 October 2023 | UPDATED: 22:38 AEDT, 28 October 2023
Israel has released images of tanks and ground forces moving into Gaza – following intensive overnight bombardment of the territory it says killed two ‘spearhead’ Hamas commanders involved in plotting the October 7 attacks.
A short 15-second video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shows armoured vehicles gathered in what the military says is Palestinian territory on Saturday, as a spokesperson said: ‘The forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war.’
It came as the IDF said it killed Asem Abu Rakaba, the alleged architect of Hamas’ aerial incursion into the country three weeks ago, and maritime commander Ratab Abu Tshaiban in some of the raids carried out on 150 ‘underground targets’ overnight.
Israel’s devastating retaliation campaign, led by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is at its most intense level yet, amid a communications blackout that has left Gaza in ‘a state of ‘panic, fear and chaos’, according to BBC correspondent Rushi Abualouf.
The cessation of access to electricity, internet and phone signal has civilians, aid agencies and journalists inside the enclave cut off from the world – and the families of hostages demanding answers.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has tweeted images of what it says are ground forces, including armoured vehicles, moving into Gaza
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Huge plumes of smoke rise from the site of an Israeli attack on Gaza on Saturday morning
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People gather amidst the devastation at the Al-Shatee camp in Gaza City on Saturday morning, following relentless bombardment by Israel overnight
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Palestinians examine destroyed buildings in Gaza City on Saturday. Israel says it targeted 150 ‘underground targets’ as it ramps up ground action
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Asem Abu Rakaba, who is alleged to have masterminded the aerial aspects of Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, was killed in an aerial raid last night, the IDF says
The IDF claims that one of the raids on 150 ‘underground targets’ killed aerial attack mastermind Asem Abu Rakaba
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, the IDF said: ‘Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, the Head of Hamas’ Aerial Array. Abu Rakaba was responsible for Hamas’ UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defense.
‘He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts.’
The image of paragliders has become a symbol of support for Hamas, a proscribed terror group in the UK; the Met Police are hunting alleged terror sympathisers who stuck pictures of the gliders to people during a pro-Palestine rally in London.
The IDF also says it has killed a Hamas naval commander, Ratib Abu Tzahiban, who was involved in an alleged plot to attack Israel from the sea on October 24; it posted video of what it says was the strike that killed him on social media.
READ MORE: They swooped in to kill dozens at the Nova music festival. Now we reveal… How Hamas trained its murderous paraglider squadron – right under the noses of Mossad
Hamas has fired back that the ground incursion by Israel has been a ‘failure’; the terror group claims it used anti-tank rockets and mortal shelling to repel the assault and that it inflicted casualties among Israeli troops.
The militant group did not provide evidence, while the Israeli military claims it has not suffered casualties.
Israel’s raids are targeting a network of underground tunnels from which Hamas is believed to operate underneath northern Gaza – including, the state says, beneath Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex, ‘exploiting the civilian population’.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, speaking on Saturday, said ‘expanding’ Israel’s activities in Gaza ‘serves the goals of the war’ – but it remains unclear whether this represents a full ground offensive, as had been threatened.
Rear Adm Hagari said: ‘The IDF is continuing with significant massive attacks form the air and the sea, and the killing of terrorists.
‘Overnight the ISA (the Israel Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet) and IDF have killed additional Hamas commanders, among them the commander of the aerial force of Hamas who was a key partner of the October 7 massacre.
‘In addition we killed the maritime commander of Gaza. These are the spearhead terrorists of the tactic(al) echelon of Hamas.
Their targeting is a significant phase of progress in combat and that means we are going to fight a weaker enemy, so we are going to continue to do that. Forces are still deployed out there and continuing their campaign. This is warfare.
‘We are operating to follow up on the following goals: Eradicating Hamas, and the national effort to bring back the hostages. We are going to reach the most correct professional decisions while these goals serve as our compass.’
He added that humanitarian aid would be allowed into southern parts of Gaza from Egypt, including food, medicine and water; however, Israel has recently carried out bombing raids on cities in the south, including Rafah and Khan Younis.
On Saturday Israel also says it intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones. Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group have exchanged fire daily following the October 7 attacks.
The IDF also claims to have eliminated Hamas naval commander Ratab Abu Tshaiban, who is alleged to have been involved in a plot to attack Israel from the sea on October 24
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A man drives a car with a shattered windscreen in Gaza City on Saturday
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Women walk through devastation in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Saturday; Palestinian health authorities say some 7,700 people have died in Israel’s relentless retaliatory strikes
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A UN vehicle drives through Rafah on Saturday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a ceasefire to be brokered between Israel and Hamas
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Palestinians collect water from a filling point in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Saturday. Israel says it will allow aid into the south of the enclave via Egypt
Those living in Gaza have been left in the dark as electricity and communications were cut off – including NGOs and emergency services.
Palestinian telecom provider Paltel said the bombardment caused ‘complete disruption’ of internet, mobile and landline services, with aid agencies unable to communicate and families of the 229 Israelis taken hostage by Hamas have concerned that their loved ones are at risk.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the majority of the families of kidnap victims, is seeking an immediate meeting with ministers.
It said in a statement that relatives were angry over the ‘absolute uncertainty regarding the fate of the hostages held (in Gaza), who were also subject to the heavy bombings’.
Rear Adm Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, insisted in Saturday’s statement that bringing home the hostages was a ‘top national priority’: ‘All of our activities, operations and intel activities are…geared for the realisation of this goal.’
Elsewhere, Melanie Ward, chief executive of charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday that she had not been able to reach humanitarian workers operating within Gaza since 4pm on Friday.
She added: ‘Phones won’t connect, WhatsApp messages won’t deliver – we are desperately worried for all of our colleagues.’
Palestinians in Gaza have been travelling by foot or car to check on their relatives and friends after a night of airstrikes described by some as the most intense they had witnessed, even during previous Gaza wars.
BBC correspondent Rushi Abualouf, speaking from the southern city of Khan Younis, said: ‘We have had no communication here for the last 10 hours as Israel cut internet lines, fibre lines, also the two main mobile carriers were stopped, so people were unable to communicate with each other.
‘(It is) a state of panic, fear and chaos; very chaotic scenes in the street. People don’t know what to do in these circumstances.’
‘The bombs were everywhere, the building was shaking,’ said Hind al-Khudary, a journalist in central Gaza and one of a few people with cell phone service.
‘We can’t reach anyone or contact anyone. I do not know where my family is.’
Israeli air strikes destroyed hundreds of buildings in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to the Gaza Civil Defence service.
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the service, said: ‘Hundreds of buildings and houses were completely destroyed and thousands of other homes were damaged.’
Witnesses said most of the bombing was concentrated on areas around two hospitals – Al-Shifa and the so-called Indonesian hospital – located in the Jabaliya district of northern Gaza, flattening buildings and creating craters in the streets.
UNWRA, the UN agency for refugees, announced that as of Friday, 58 staff members had been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
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Images taken from Israel looking into Gaza suggest shelling and aerial bombing is continuing in the enclave into Saturday morning
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Smoke rises from the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning following an Israeli airstrike overnight
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Israel carried out aerial bombardments of northern Gaza overnight Friday into Saturday, illuminating the sky with explosions and fire
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu had previously refused to authorize an invasion as he rallied political support – angering military chiefs as their western allies began to call for a ceasefire
Asem Abu Rakaba is alleged to have masterminded the aerial assault on October (Pictured: A still from footage showing fighters training ahead of Hamas’ operation into Israel)
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Israeli troops give thumbs up gestures to a photographer as they move through the border town of Sderot, close to the Gaza border
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Israel has deployed troops and tanks on the ground in Gaza as it ‘expands’ its military operation
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The possibility of a second front being opened against Hezbollah in Lebanon, alongside the threat of a grinding war of attrition inside Gaza has made some hesitant to throw their weight behind the offensive
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The Israeli Prime Minister was burned as a puppet during a rally of solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, yesterday
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation, has called for a ceasefire to be brokered, claiming hospitals cannot be evacuated and ambulances cannot be directed to casualties under the blackout.
He said on Saturday: ‘Reports of intense bombardment in Gaza are extremely distressing. Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter.
‘The blackout is also making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured. We are still out of touch with our staff and health facilities. I’m worried about their safety.
‘WHO appeals to all those who have the power to push for a ceasefire to act NOW.’
Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for Palestine, said aid agencies, journalists and civilians are at ‘grave risk’, tweeting: ‘Wars have rules. Civilians must be protected.’
READ MORE: Israel reveals what Hamas terror base hidden under Gaza’s largest hospital looks like: Video shows a labyrinth of underground tunnels and war rooms used as main HQ for militant group
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, wrote: ‘The UK’s top priority remains the safety of British nationals in Gaza and the region.
‘We support Israel’s right to self defence, in line with IHL (international humanitarian law), and continue to push for the protection of Palestinian civilians.’
It came after iOS and Android apps for the messaging app Telegram cut off access to Hamas-controlled communications, CNN reports. Combined with the blackout in Gaza, it gives Israel a distinct advantage in the information war being waged on social media about the conflict.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to press into Gaza after hostage talks with Hamas terrorists collapsed and he had unanimous approval from senior ministers.
He had previously refused to authorize an invasion as he rallied political support – angering military chiefs as their western allies began to call for a ceasefire, the Telegraph reported.
But the country now has hundreds of thousands of troops, along with scores of tanks and other armoured vehicles, lining the Gaza border.
Images posted by the IDF on X appeared to show a large number of armoured vehicles moving into Gaza.
Israel now has troops and tanks on the ground in Gaza as it ‘expands’ its operation, with aerial bombardment overhead unleashing strikes of ‘unprecedented’ intensity into the region.
‘Our troops and tanks are inside the Gaza Strip. They’re shooting and they’re operating,’ Major Nir Dinar confirmed to the New York Times.
He added: ‘But our troops and tanks were inside Gaza yesterday as well.’
Hamas further revealed that it was engaged in fighting in Beit Hanoun and the east of Bureij, in the north of the Gaza Strip.
But approval for the ground invasion has been difficult to achieve with politicians divided over objectives and strategy, the New York Times reported – despite the country pledging to ‘wipe out’ Hamas after a raid that left 1,400 dead.
The possibility of a second front being opened against Hezbollah in Lebanon, alongside the threat of a grinding war of attrition inside Gaza has made some hesitant to throw their weight behind the offensive.
And the war cabinet has struggled over their priorities – as some wanted to focus on destroying Hamas while others were determined that freeing hostages should be the primary focus.
Still more argued over whether the offensive should be a sweeping invasion or a series of small attacks.
And the Israeli public faltered – with nearly half believing ‘it would be better to wait’ than launch an offensive according to polling on Friday and only 29 per cent calling for escalation.
This was down nearly 40 per cent in less than two weeks on a poll in the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv.
Prior to the attacks the Israeli public faltered – with nearly half believing ‘it would be better to wait’ than launch an offensive according to polling on Friday and only 29 per cent calling for escalation
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A top political adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas it will feel Israel’s ‘wrath’, as Israeli warplanes unleashed airstrikes
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Senior advisors have been stuck arguing over whether the offensive should be a sweeping invasion or a series of small attacks
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Palestinians were left in a terrifying blackout as communications were shut off and Israeli warplanes unleased airstrikes on the strip
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Ahead of the onslaught, Palestinian civilians were warned by the IDF to flee to the south of Gaza
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Missiles then slammed into the Hamas-controlled region, razing buildings to the ground and bathing the skyline in an apocalyptic orange glow, as fire raged
Gaza is in total darkness after IDF intensifies attack
Coercion Code - "Dark Times are upon us" 